International Universal Health Coverage Day Observed

Like other parts of the globe, International Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Day was also observed in Pakistan on Thursday with commitment to ensure access of every citizen with basic medical facilities

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Dec, 2019 ) :Like other parts of the globe, International Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Day was also observed in Pakistan on Thursday with commitment to ensure access of every citizen with basic medical facilities.

Various activities were organized to mark the day with an aim to raise awareness of the need for strong and resilient health systems and universal health coverage with multi-stakeholder partners.

The United Nations General Assembly endorsed a resolution urging countries to accelerate progress toward universal health coverage (UHC) on December 12 in year 2017 the idea that everyone, everywhere should have access to quality, affordable health care - as an essential priority for international development.

Each year on 12 December, UHC advocates raise their voices to share the stories of the millions of people still waiting for health, champion what we have achieved so far, call on leaders to make bigger and smarter investments in health, and encourage diverse groups to make commitments to help move the world closer to UHC by 2030.

According to World Health Organization (WHO), at least half of the world's population still do not have full coverage of essential health services. It added about 100 million people are still being pushed into extreme poverty (defined as living on 1.90 USD or less a day) because they have to pay for health care.

Similarly, over 800 million people (almost 12% of the world's population) spent at least 10% of their household budgets to pay for health care. All UN Member States have agreed to try to achieve universal health coverage (UHC) by 2030, as part of the Sustainable Development Goals.

It said that universal health coverage means that all people have access to the health services they need, when and where they need them, without financial hardship.

It includes the full range of essential health services, from health promotion to prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and palliative care.

It said that universal health coverage should be based on strong, people-centred Primary health care as good health systems are rooted in the communities they serve.

They focus not only on preventing and treating disease and illness, but also on helping to improve well-being and quality of life.

WHO said that UHC enables everyone to access the services that address the most significant causes of disease and death, and ensures that the quality of those services is good enough to improve the health of the people who receive them.

Protecting people from the financial consequences of paying for health services out of their own pockets reduces the risk that people will be pushed into poverty because unexpected illness requires them to use up their life savings, sell assets, or borrow destroying their futures and often those of their children.

It said that many countries are already making progress towards UHC. All countries can take actions to move more rapidly towards it, or to maintain the gains they have already made.

It said that improving health service coverage and health outcomes depends on the availability, accessibility, and capacity of health workers to deliver qualitypeople-centred integrated care.

Investments in quality primary health care will be the cornerstone for achieving UHC around the world. Investing in the primary health care workforce is the most cost-effective way to ensure access to essential health care.